Ni no Kuni: The Return of the Renowned Rouge
by NazoLuk3
Summary: Set two years after Oliver and his companions save Ni no Nuni, they have to save it again. This time, the foe they have to beat threatens both worlds... [Rated T for Profanity]


Ni no Kuni: The Return of the Renowned Rouge

Set two years after Oliver and his companions save Ni no Nuni, they have to save it again. This time, its something bigger and it threatens both worlds...

* * *

Chapter 1

_The unknown figure fell onto its knees as if puppet strings that were supporting it were cut off. It pleaded with all of its soul, "No, no, no! Please, I beg of you! Please give me one more chance!"_

_The booming bellows of the slightly larger man standing beside the figu__re frightened him. The man exclaims, "One more chance? Hah, I am no fool! I have seen through all of your lies; You tricked my fellow people in obeying your orders and thereafter attacked the kingdom of Nazcaä."_

_The figure bows its head as deep as the abandoned tunnels of No Longer Mine. It shivers as it continues to plead. "I did nothing of the sort! Please believe me. I was incriminated. Forgive me o King of the Twin Wands..."_

_"I am afraid I cannot forgive you. I have come all this way to give you your punishment as many of the civilians, and myself, has witnessed you crimes. You cannot lie, Fallacia." The man, or rather, the King of the Twin Wands rose both of his wands in the air, as true to his name. Using the first wand, he drew a simple square rune. As he was drawing the second rune with his other wand, the figurine known as Fallacia was speechless and in awe. Fallicia barely made out its words in fear. "O King, I have not done anything wrong! Mornstar a-and her sister A-Astra being used on me is to great of a b-burden for the crimes which I have not committed!"_

_The king replied. "I am sorry, Fallacia. I am doing this for your own good. Show me what you are worthy of when you shall return back to the surface..."_

_Finally drawing a complex figure for the second rune, the king rose both wands into the air. An extremely powerful force full of magic and light filled the atmosphere. Chains of light started surrounding Fallacia and wrapped it, preventing it from moving an inch. Suddenly, it snapped. _

_It had been abandoned._

_It had been betrayed._

_Fallicia screamed to the top of its lungs, "Why won't you believe me!? I HAVE SERVED THE NAZCA__ÄN COUNTRY FOR DECADES! DAMN YOU, WIZARD KIN__—"_

_As swift as the wind, the chains of light overwhelmed its whole body and transformed into a dark orb. The Wizard King of the Twin Wands cautiously picked up the orb and placed it in a beautiful, decorated royal box. He placed three different flowers alongside the sealed figure._

_The Wizard King looks up at the sky and speaks to no one. "I believe that true peace will come to the world of Ni No Kuni..."_

x

"Hey, watch it!" A rather mountainous man angrily yelled.

"I'm sorry!" A young woman apologizes.

Esther, a growing girl, lightly skips about in Hamelin, the industrial kingdom. Piles of smoke and steam rise to the ceiling from machines and houses. She skips over the copper floors and passes through the many stores that a traveler needs. She slows down, reaching her destination, and avoiding the many civilians blocking her path. Tightly holding her harp in hand, she walks over to one of the many industry headquarters of Hamelin.

Meanwhile, her companion Swaine is doing menial tasks that even a Papa Sasquatch couldn't handle. A single drop of sweat falls off of Swaine's smooth chin. A coworker notices Swaine's determination and laughs, "Haha, Prince Gascon, do you need any help with carrying that load? I still have 'em muscles."

Swaine placed the load of boxes on the floor and answered, "First of all, don't call me Gascon or Prince or anything formal. Second, I doubt you have more muscle than _moi_." He wiped off the sweat and continued to move cargo. As he worked, he continued, "As Swaine, I am just working to get money and help the Kingdom of Hamelin. That's all."

The coworker nodded. "Yessir, _Prince_ Swaine."

Swaine was as red and furious as a demoliceros. He yelled, "What the_—_you know what...!"

And so Swaine threw a tantrum, unaware that the was a visitor who was standing in the entire conversation. The visitor asked, "Um...so how are things going in Hamelin, Swaine?"

The thief turned around and jumped in surprise. He took awhile to understand the current situation_—_someone was watching him in frustration _and _heard his embarrassing name given be his coworker. And that someone happens to be that little kid, Esther. His head was filled with tons of busy bees. Swaine exclaimed, "Huh?! Esther, when did you get here?"

The young woman smiled and answered, "Just now. I never thought that you would be so angry, _Prince_ Swaine."

The man sighed in exhaustion. "You guys never stop making fun of me, huh? Anyways, boss I gotta leave early as promised." The boss gave a thumbs up and cued them to leave.

Once they left, Swaine continued their previous conversation. "So, what's with the sudden meeting with me? I know that you told me that you were coming here to tell me something but..."

"I'll tell you later," Esther reassured. "We need Prince Marcassin to know this, too." She giggled right after, thinking about something in particular.

"Aren't you secretive," Swaine remarked. "This sounds unrelated, but you sorta look different."

"Of course I am!" Esther yelled. "Unlike you, who looks exactly the same two years ago, I'm not the girl that I used to be."

The thief retorted, "Well I shaved and I'm not some kind of vagrant anymore."

"But you still steal."

Swaine did not reply back.

All jokes aside, Swaine and Esther finally reached the Hamelin palace. Since everyone now acknowledges Swaine as the first prince Gascon, they have the rights to enter the palace without permission. Marcassin gave a warm welcome and invited them inside. After a short chat of a reunion, Esther declared, "Does anyone know why I called you guys here?"

"Nope," Swaine said dully. Marcassin said, "I'm afraid not."

"Actually," she continued. "A few days from now is the day that we saved Cassiopeia and removed the Zodiarchy from Ni no Kuni. I propose we should celebrate!"

Swaine face-palmed. "Are you serious? All you do is party."

Marcassin replied, "I think it will be a wonderful idea. The celebration should be in all four kingdoms: Ding Dong Dell, Al Mamoon, Hamelin, and Gondol from the Country of Nazcaä. No one should be left out."

Everyone in Ni no Kuni knew Gondol. After the intense battle between the Zodiarchy, Queen Cassiopeia wanted to live in the world and to fix her wrongdoings. First, she filled the Ivory Tower entirely with flowers and descended the castle to what was once the Empire of Nazcaä. Luckily, travelers, other villagers, and even forest dwellers were attracted and helped Queen Cassiopeia build a kingdom to reside in. It took only one and a half of a year to complete due to much support from the other kingdoms. The kingdom was officially called Gondol after its completion and the queen herself was grateful to everyone.

Swaine stuck his hand out. "Hold on. This isn't the best time to celebrate. The best you could do is to move it to a different date."

Esther was confused. "Why?"

"Didn't you hear? Cassiopeia disappeared a few weeks ago. Apparently she went on a journey to the Tombstone Trail to see her father's grave. It was only going to be a couple of days, but she hasn't returned back to Gondol."

"Should we go and find her?"

He shook his head. "It's dangerous. Some people were dispatched and they couldn't find her."

Esther gasped. She rejected, "No, that can't be possible...! We have to inform Oliver about this!"

"Then what will Oliver do_—"_

_BAM!_

The ground shook crazily as if a thousand inphant familiars were jumping on the floor. The foundations of the Hamelin palace were falling apart. Furniture were displaced and wrecked. The quakes were endless. Marcassin quickly reacted and yelled at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, evacuate outside!"

"Woah!" Swaine swiftly dodged a couch-sized piece of falling debris. "What the hell is going on?!"

"I don't know!" Esther screamed. "Everything was perfectly fine a moment ago!"

Running past the obstacles, they finally escaped. Two boarrior guards were confused and were panicking. Marcassin looked at one of them in the eye and said calmly, "Calm yourselves. What happened?"

The first boarrior answered, "P-Prince Marcassin, there are monsters attacking Hamelin!"

"What?"

The second one added, "They just came out of nowhere! We could deal a couple of them, but they are too strong and there's too many of them!"

"Evacuate the people and get the Captain to get your orders. "

Both of the guards saluted. One of them asked, "What are you going to do, Prince?"

Marcassin smiled. "I do not know. However, remember to protect Hamelin. Let's go, everyone." Swaine and Esther nodded in agreement and followed directly behind the prince. They ran to the gates that enclosed Hamelin_—_or at least they tried to. Some people were panicking while a handful of guards attempted to restrain them, proving that going to an exit is a difficult feat.

Unfortunately, massive scraps of debris forced them to detour and eventually corner them. Even worse, a group of tin-men surrounded them when they had the advantage. "Oh no..." Frightened Esther managed to make words out of her mouth. "What should we do...?"

"Obviously we have to fight back!" Swaine brought out his familiar, Gunther.

"You cannot take care of all of them by yourself," Marcassin pointed out. "Allow me to assist you, Brother."

"Me too," Esther replied. She brought out her noble Gogo and prepared to attack.

"No," Marcassin said. "Just like you said, someone has to warn Oliver about this. I will cast Gateway and you must escape."

"But—"

"Quickly!" The prince, as fast as the winds, drew a rune that resembled a door with his wand. The second rune was a swift vertical line and the magical spell took effect almost immediately. A gigantic doorway, led by stairs, were right behind the tin-men. In Esther's eyes, her destination was so close, yet so very distant; distant enough that she can never reach it.

As a second passes, Marcassin cast another spell, Pulse. One of the tin-men was pushed back by the magical force when Swaine consequently shoved Esther out of the corner of surrounding monsters. "Go, Esther, go!" he shouted. "Bring him back! We'll be okay!"

She ran as fast as she could until she would run out of breath. After what seemed to be an eternity, she reached the doors to the other world_—_Oliver's world. She turned back one more time to see Swaine and Marcassin flooded by mechanical and organic monsters. Soon after, a mass of light covered her entire body, where the gateway between worlds disappeared into the air.

"You can do it, Esther!" was the last words that she heard before everything became white.

Esther was not hesitant to walk through the corridors of the Gateway. As she walked through the endless stretches of the hall, she was reminded of the countless times where she was with her savior, Oliver. If Oliver didn't come to Ni no Kuni, she would not have been healed of her brokenhearted symptoms nor her father would have been the same depressed and grumpy man. She wouldn't have met Swaine, or ride a dragon, or fight in risky battles.

But most importantly, she met Oliver because he came to her world. Her life._  
_

The end of the corridor had a bright light that continued to crawl closer to her as she runs towards it. Once again, she was blinded by light and she suddenly sees the world black. She was too tired to think anymore...

x

"Everyone knows how to solve x in the quadratic formula, right? There's another way..."

Oliver hates Algebra. Well not really; he hates his teacher whose lectures are as _dry_ as a desert. Despite this, Oliver tries to stay awake using a handful of methods. He tries to think of the clanking sounds as the chalk hits the board as a kind of rhythm. These reminds him of the countless times where his familiar Mitey swings his swords to slay his enemies. Oliver tried to listen to the "tick-tocks" of the classroom clock that took forever for the minute hand to go around once. Time reminded him of the spell Rejuvenate and how long it took to cast a spell before the enemy strikes first.

Oliver always thought of the other world. Whether people's soul mates from both worlds or any random object, he thinks of Ni no Kuni.

Oliver came back to reality, back to boring old Algebra, when a familiar friend spoke to him. "Oi Ollie-boy, I don't like this subject," Mr. Drippy blatantly pointed out. "This is flippin' boring!"

Oliver gave a slight glare and whispered, "Shhhh...Not now, Mr. Drippy." He remembered the times when people looked at him weird when he was talking to himself. Luckily, people thought he was acting like a superhero since he was young of age. Now, Oliver tries his best to resist the urge to talk to the Lord High Lord of the Fairies, especially in school. Oliver feels more responsible now that he is fifteen, but he still has a childish atmosphere around him.

The teacher continued, "Multiply the polynomials using the FOIL method, or remember the trick to add..."

As the teacher continues to blabber on about numbers and really long words, Oliver continues to daydream about his adventures with Esther and Swaine...

_"Ping pong_," the important bell that will dismiss everyone rang without restraint. Myrtle came along and whacked Oliver's head. She laughed then she asked, "What are you doing, sleepyhead? It's dismissal." When the sense of pain reached Oliver's brain, he hopped out of his chair like a bunny. He rubbed his head for comfort and replies, "I didn't have enough sleep last night. Hehehe..."

"What an excuse!" Drippy laughed.

At almost an instant, Myrtle heard something so very close yet so far ahead. She whispers, "Oliver, do you hear something?"

"Huh?"

"I thought I heard laughing..."

Oliver laughed in an unenthusiastic manner. "I-It's probably your imagination."

"Yeah..."

Oliver and his dearest friend, Myrtle, walked out of class and began to talk about different subjects. Oliver would always have a curious mind, asking many things and people he never knew. On the other hand, Myrtle would talk about the tons of gossips from her other friends. The two were always together, especially ever since he helped her to face the outside world. Even though Oliver lives alone, he gets company from her and Miss Leila and everyone on the neighborhood.

However, Oliver had a dreadful feeling a few days ago. It happened when Drippy shivered tremendously and warned Oliver. "Ollie-boy, there's something that I can't shake the feeling off my lantern," he would say. When Oliver asked what was the problem, Drippy replied, "I don't know for sure...just be proper and everything works out."

Oliver kept his guard up expecting the worse to come ever since. His head was full of questions. What will happen?

Yet again, Oliver was inside his little world and was not paying attention to his environment. Luckily Myrtle was able to supervise him in one of those times. She crazily shook her hand in front of his eyes to grab his eyes' attention. "Oliver. Oliver!"

He jumped. "Huh?!" The young man notices his surroundings have changed—from the glossy floors of the school's hallway to a green, pure neighborhood. Did he leave school that quickly?

Myrtle continued, "Let's go home, Oliver."

Oliver nodded. "Sure. But first, I need to go to Miss Leila's store. You can come if you want..."

She smiled. "Of course! I work there as the 'Dairy Fairy,' after all!"

And so Oliver and Myrtle took a short detour and proceeded to Leila's Milk Bar (and mind that Drippy stealthily followed like a swift thumbelemur). The place did not change drastically over the course of two years. The old store did achieve a higher reputation because of the delicious taste of Leila's new item in stock: cheese. The nostalgic chime of the bell resonated in their pair of ears. "Welcome!" Miss Leila greeted, her calm voice not showing any harm. She turned around and smiled. "Oh, if it isn't dear Oliver and Myrtle! What brings you here?"

"Hello Miss Leila," Oliver answered. "I'm just here for some rations."

"The usual right?" The young man nodded. Miss Leila continues, "Alright. Just wait here, hon." The storekeeper left to the storage and the two were alone again.

It was silent for awhile. It was awkward for the two, especially for Oliver. The young man had to start a conversation. He asked, "Myrtle, what do you think of Miss Leila? She looks...sort of different."

"Yeah you got that right mun," Drippy squeezed in the conversation. "She flippin' lost all that blubber!"

"Mr. Drippy!" Oliver hissed. He instantly checked if Myrtle was "flipped out", as Mr. Drippy calls it, since Oliver has once again talked to thin air in the eyes of other people.

Myrtle was staring off into space. She notices that Oliver was anticipating for an answer. She swiftly answered, "Huh? Oh, yeah..." She did not want to move of even talk anymore. She finally let out some words. "N-not now, Oliver..." She was sweating and everything felt much, much colder. Her body felt weak; so weak that she could not even carry herself. Myrtle could barely think why she was struck with a sickness even though she was fine a moment ago...

The young lady was too tired and dizzy and confused about everything now.

Naturally, Oliver noticed the problem immediately the moment he waited for her answer. She was too pale and she was acting differently than before, after all. Something triggered an idea in the many fantasies of his brain. Gained from the experience of his friends back in Ni no Kuni, Oliver knew that this was not just a natural occurrence.

Something must have happened to Esther, Myrtle's soulmate.

"BANG!" Myrtle abruptly fell to the floor with a loud thud. Everything went black for her and she fell prey to the beasts of the unconscious realm.

Drippy kneeled down and touched her forehead. The heat was as fierce as the lava of Old Smokey. "Hot!" Drippy yelled. He simultaneously lifted his hand as fast as thunder and complained, "This young lady is in the danger zone, mun! Get help!"

Oliver yelled at the top of his lungs. "Miss Leila, Miss Leila!"

The door to the closet flew open as a worried look appeared on the elder woman's face. Some items fell off the shelves as the tension was released. "What happened Oliver?!"

"It's Myrtle—she's...!"

Miss Leila felt Myrtle's forehead and confirmed the intense temperature. "What a horrible fever." She carried the pale figure and said, "Oliver, I need you to close shop and escort me to the Cartwright home."

"Yes, ma'am." Oliver locked the doors to the shop and kept company until their destination. Mr. Drippy simply tagged along as always.

_If only I had a wand then I could've cast a spell to help her_, Oliver kept thinking over and over.

But he is just a normal boy. **  
**

Not a savior of another world.

* * *

Finally finished the first chapter! I had this idea and started this project a few months back and just stopped. But I just had the urge to continue for some strange reason. Mind you that since I did not write or play Ni no Kuni for awhile (because I finished it) the characters may be out of character. Also, I may not update frequently, as in, I update every couple of months. In fact, I may not update at all and abandon this story...

However, I hope that you enjoy this chapter and let your imaginations wild for the next chapter!


End file.
